DLS 2: Exposure
by imaginative-dreamer
Summary: Sequel to Dirty Little Secrets, this story follows up on the life of Tyler Simms when he leaves the quiet town of Ipswich. To New Jersey where he can hopefully lead a more normal life and perhaps find a little romance. Best read after Dirty Little Secrets
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Covenant except my own characters. _**

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**Chapter 1**

"Here's to life at the Academy!" Kate exclaimed, lifting her bottle of beer.

Everyone laughed as they clinked their bottles together.

"Here's to finally getting out of that place and Graduation Day!" Reid chimed.

"Hey, it was fun there!" Lynn replied.

When everyone turned to her and gave her a look each, she laughed and said, "It was interesting!"

"I'm gonna go get another," Tyler said, walking away from the celebrating crowd.

Tyler looked around the Nicky's as he waited. He wanted to take everything in. Tonight was the last night he would spend here in Ipswich and what better way to spend it than with his best friends? He smiled and took a mental picture of his laughing friends.

- - -

"Bye, baby boy." Reid muttered gruffly, pulling Tyler into a hug.

Lynn smiled warmly at Tyler. "Well, the first of us to leave. Bye Tyler." Lynn leant in and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for everything and don't forget us okay?"

Tyler chuckled. "Couldn't no matter how hard I try."

Tyler stared at the five waving figures as he drove away from the Academy. Although a part of him wants to stay back with them and continue on the rest of his life with them, he knew that he couldn't. It was time for him to move on and try a life on his own. An exposure to a normal life.

- - -

Tyler stared uncertainly at his new surroundings. He was finally here. He was finally where he had always dreamt to be. Taking a deep breath, Tyler took a step. A step into his new life, his new beginning at Princeton.

"Hey!" Tyler cried as something slammed into his back, making him almost lose his balance.

"Sorry man!"

Tyler frowned at the sheepish looking sandy-haired guy standing behind him. "Yea. It's fine."

A smile replaced the sheepish look that he had on. "Hi. I'm Jake."

Tyler smiled back at Jake. He might as well begin to make new friends. "And I'm Tyler."

- - -

"You cannot be serious," Tyler muttered to Jake. "You know I don't appreciate this kind of thing."

Tyler sighed as he entered the Art Exhibition that Jake had dragged him along into. He had been expecting a night of fun-filled with alcohol, women and loud music. After all, Jake was from New Jersey and he was suppose to be introducing Tyler to the nightlife in New Jersey. Not a quiet room filled with paint-covered canvases hanging on every nook and corner of the walls and serious-looking men and women dressed as if they were ready to attend a funeral and ready to shoot you down for any absurd comments you might so much as whisper or utter.

"Hey," he hissed to his friend who was already beginning to walk away from him, leaving him standing there confused and looking like a lost child. "Where are you going?"

Jake waved his friend away and followed a group of men who were chattering animatedly over a piece of abstract art that looked to Tyler like a child's painting.

Tyler shook his head and decided to walk around. It was always times like these when he truly missed his home in Ipswich. He missed the fun times the four brothers had at Nicky's. He missed his best friend, Reid. And despite the constant dull ache that still resides in his heart, he missed Lynn.

Tyler hurried past the abstract section, not understanding a single work of art there. He walked down a corridor that seemed less filled with people. There was only a couple and another girl there. He took a look at the pictures on the wall. At least he understood the paintings there. They were simply portraits and scenes. The couple soon walked out, leaving Tyler in the room with the girl.

Shrugging, Tyler walked towards the girl who had her back to him. She seemed to be immersed in a painting of a mother cradling her child. "So..." Tyler started softly. "Are you here because you actually like this stuff or are you simply here because you were forced to come like me?"

The girl with the dark brown hair did not react to his question. She seemed oblivious to him.

Frowning, Tyler asked, "Hey?"

Again, the girl did not react. It was as if she had not even heard him. Tyler stood there confused and a bit hurt at being so blatantly ignored. Back in Ipswich, the guys always commented on him being the shy one but here he was, trying to make small talk with a stranger and was getting ignored. He shook his head, realising that the girl was probably one of those rich daughters who simply do not give anyone else the time of the day. Jake had warned him about girls like that who were definitely going to be at the Exhibition.

He took a step back from her when she turned away from the painting. Genuine surprise flitted across her face when she caught sight of him. Her brown eyes widened as her mouth formed an 'Oh'.

Realising then that she probably truly had not heard him, Tyler extended a hand and smiled. "Hi. I'm Tyler."

The girl stared back at his hand as if he had held out a gun. Her eyes narrowed at his words. Shaking her head, she said, "I cannot hear you."

"Hi. I said my name is Tyler."

Tyler heard sharp footsteps that were hurrying towards them. He turned and saw a very annoyed looking guy that looked seemingly angry at him for reasons that were still unknown to Tyler.

"Back off," the broad, muscular six-footer growled.

Looking annoyed herself, the girl put a hand on the guy's arm as if calming him.

"What are you playing at?"

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "What's your problem?"

"You, clearly."

"Well, I don't recall doing anything wrong," Tyler snapped back. He was annoyed at the guy's reaction. It wasn't as if he was harassing the girl or running his hands all over her body. All he did was introduced himself to her and here was this guy growling at him as if he had committed one of the seven deadliest sins.

"Tyler!"

He turned his head at the call of his name. Seeing Jake hurrying towards him, he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Sorry," Jake muttered to the six-footer and the girl. "Come on, Tyler. We have to go."

Tyler glared at Jake as he pulled him away from the guy and probably his overprotected girlfriend. Tyler glanced back at the girl and met with a pair of sad and apologetic pair of brown eyes that were framed with the longest lashes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Mr. Simms, would you like to tell the class what is it outside that window that fascinates you so much?"

Tyler blushed and turned his gaze away from the window and stared at his notes. He would very much like to tell the lecturer what exactly was so fascinating. Everything. Everything was definitely more fascinating than listening to the old man lecture about _the grading system_ ***cue dramatic music***. Tyler rolled his eyes when the old man continued. It wasn't as if they all weren't familiar with it already. The man repeated it in every class.

"Now, the first student to give me the answer to this question shall be excused from the next assignment."

Tyler sighed and rested his jaw on the table, not bothering.

"Ms. Mason?"

He stared at the blonde girl with disbelief when she offered to answer the question. The rest of the students were still busy trying to figure out the answer and here was a girl who had found the answer in mere minutes.

The girl caught his stare and smiled at him. She turned her attention back to the lecturer and unsurprisingly got the answer right.

Tyler noticed a piece of crumpled paper at the edge of his table. Opening it, it read, 'Better start concentrating, Mr. Simms.'

He looked around to see who was the one who had probably dropped it for him.

And caught the smile of a certain Ms. Mason.

- - -

"Hey. What do you think about this?" Jake asked, showing Tyler a sketch of a what looked like a bowl of fruits.

Tyler simply raised his eyebrows and gave Jake a look.

"Nevermind. Wrong guy to ask."

Tyler stared into blank space as his thoughts went back to what happened that night at the Exhibition. What bothered him was why he couldn't seem to get it out of his head. There wasn't anything spectacular about the girl that he had met (or had tried to meet). She may be pretty but it was just an ordinary kind of pretty. Nothing spectacular. So, there really wasn't any reason why he should be thinking about her so much. And yet he was. Maybe it was the way that guy, her bodyguard/boyfriend, had reacted to him talking to her that made Tyler think so much about it. Or maybe it was those sad brown eyes that had looked back at him when he was walking away.

"Hey, Mr. Simms."

Tyler broke out of his jumbled thoughts and looked up. Surprise flitted past his face when he saw the blonde girl that had been in his class.

"You guys don't mind if I sit here right?"

Tyler gave a small smile when the girl plopped down on the empty chair at their table even before Tyler and Jake could say anything and crossed her long toned legs in front of her.

"Hi Becky," Jake sighed.

Tyler turned to glance at Jake. He hadn't realised that he knew the blonde. After all, they were both taking different courses. "You guys know each other?"

Jake nodded.

"We used to go to the same high school together," she replied. "I'm Rebecca Mason by the way."

"And I'm Tyler. So you're from New Jersey too?"

"Yeap," she said. "I've got a question. Why do you always look like you don't want to be in calculus every time?"

"It's boring." Tyler replied flatly.

She chuckled in reply. "Not really. He repeats himself a lot but it's not that bad."

"That's because you're the only person in class who understands what he's talking about."

Jake looked up from his drawing pad. "Oh, I see you've already know about Becks's brilliant brain."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "It's not that my brain is brilliant, Jake. It's because I actually use my brains for more than just drawing, Jake."

Tyler laughed when Jake blushed.

"Well, I've got to go. Nice metting you Tyler," Rebecca said as she got up and gave him a smile. "Bye Jake," she added with a laugh.

"She has that effect on guys."

Tyler turned to jake when he heard his comment. "What?"

"Becks. She has that effect on guys," Jake repeated. "I used to be like you when I first met her."

Tyler frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jake sighed. "Dude, I saw your eyes trail after her when she walked away."

"So?"

"The appropriate word to describe you would be smitten."

"I'm not smitten!" Tyler protested.

Jake snorted. "Yea. Don't worry. There isn't anything wrong with being smitten by Becks. She is hot by average male standards anyway with her long legs and toned body. Not to mention, her nice ass."

"Shut up, Jake."

"She used to do gymnastics, you know. That's why she looks so good."

Tyler shook his head and ignored Jake and the little feeling inside him that was silently whispering that Jake might just be right.

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**_Note: Sorry, it's not exactly my best work. But oh well, I'm currently suffering from a classic case of writer's block. So getting something up here is something. Anyway, please review. Thanks. _**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So how has life at Princeton been?"

Tyler smiled into the phone when he heard Lynn's question. He had spoken to Reid before her and his first question had been the exact same one. The more he thought about their relationship, the more sure was he that Lynn was made for Reid and not him.

"Fine. What about you? Harvard treating you well?"

Lynn chuckled. "Yea. Better than Reid is treating me anyway."

Tyler gave a laugh when he heard Reid reply a "Hey! I heard that!".

"Listen. I have a question to ask you."

"Go on. I'm listening."

"Okay, there's this girl.."

But before Tyler could get any further, Lynn interrupted him. "Ooh. A girl. Now I'm really listening."

"Haha, Lynn, very funny." Tyler sighed. "Okay. I met her at an Art Exhibition that I was dragged to and the problem is that I can't stop thinking about her."

"Ahuh. Sounds like you've got a crush on her then."

Tyler shook his head. "No. It's not that. It's definitely not that. I would know if it was a crush. But it's more of a drawing towards her."

"Yea, Tyler. It's called a physical attraction." Tyler could hear Reid yell from the background.

"It's not that, guys. It's like there's something about her. Something special."

"Tyler. It does sound like you have a crush on this girl." Lynn said.

"But Lynn," Tyler began. "I barely spoke to her. How can I have a crush on her?"

"Love at first sight? Physical attraction?"

Tyler sighed. "Okay, nevermind guys. You guys don't exactly understand my meaning. Okay, I've got to go. Talk to you guys some other time."

Tyler snapped his phone shut and frowned. He stared at the ground, pondering. He was sure that it wasn't just some kind of physical attraction. He would know that feeling. He had been encountering that for the past few days every time he met with a girl named Rebecca Mason. So, he was sure that what he was feeling towards the girl he met at the Exhibition was not physical attraction.

Tyler looked up to take in his surrounding. He had let his legs simply take control of his body while his mind was busy whirring, trying to make sense of everything. Tyler was surprised to see that he had reached a small park that was close to his apartment. But what surprised him the most was that on a bench, just a few feet away from him was the girl that his mind was so preoccupied on.

He wondered if he should go to talk to her. After all, he didn't want to cause a scene in the park if her bodyguard was around. Finally he made up his mind.

"Hey," he greeted as he sat down beside her.

Her bent head rose. Surprise was evident in her eyes as her eyebrows rose.

"If I recalled correctly, we didn't exactly get off on a good start."

Tyler felt uneasy when he saw frustration and what looked susiciously like anger flash across her face. She was easy to read because most of the time, whatever that she seemed to be feeling would always show on her face. But that didn't make her any easier to be understood.

He waited expectantly for her to say something but all she did was look back down to what looked like a drawing pad on her lap.

"Look, I'm sorry if I ever offended you or anything because I sincerely didn't mean it."

This time the look that she shot him was a mixture of expressions that took Tyler a while to figure out. It was confusion, sadness, anger, pity, all mixed up.

Tyler felt more lost and hurt than ever when the girl got up to leave without a single word. He also felt a pang of anger. How could he not? He had come here with an unnecessary apology and he got brushed off without an explanation. Even an explanation was unnecessary because a single word in reply would be sufficient. But he got nothing and that left him even more frustrated than ever.

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**_Note: Sorry it took forever for me to upload but I've been stacked with work. Anyway, yes i know, this is really short and probably not that good. But hey, at least I'm updating. Haha._**


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